News

2008-12-15 10:11:25

Aggressive seal rescued from Constantine, Cornwall

At approximately 10.30, Area Co-ordinator Dave Jarvis received two calls in quick succession from the National Seal Sanctuary. The first was to a report of a seal pup trapped in a quantity of fishing net on the beach at Sennen Cove. As he was in Newquay, Dave contacted Area Co-ordinator Tim Bain and asked him to attend the incident. Another call then came in almost instantaneously about a seal pup hauled out above the high tide mark at Constantine, near Newquay. Therefore, Dave accompanied by medic Lesley Jarvis immediately made their way there.

When they arrived, Steve Dyson, who had first seen the pup when he had arrived for work a couple of hours earlier, met them. He guided them to the animal, which had found it’s way up onto a large rocky outcrop. It was noticed that it had some injuries around its rear flippers, so it was uplifted with the help of the member of the public. They then transported it to Kingsley Village Shopping Complex where they were met by Animal Care Assistant Dan Jarvis, who had come out from the Sanctuary to further assess the pup. The pup, a male, weighed 25kg and had a normal temperature, but it was noticed that there appeared to be some edema in one eye. Both eyes were stained with a dye to show up any damage to the surface of the eyes, and both of them showed positive staining, one had edema and scratches, while the other had a tiny mark about 1mm across. Based on this it was decided that the pup, which had been extremely aggressive throughout this process, should be brought in for treatment for the eye problems. It was put back in the cage that Dan had brought with him and taken to the Sanctuary.

Whilst all this had been going on, Tim had received a call whilst en-route to Sennen, to advise him that some members of the public had cut the animal free and released it (with the aid of some dogs). Interestingly, 12 days later medics were called to check on a pup at Nanjizal, which is only a few miles away. A pup was found, with no apparent injuries, except for a mark in its fur, running from below it’s jaw, across the mouth & up towards the eye.

Dave Jarvis Director and Cornwall Area Coordinator British Divers Marine Life Rescue